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Lady Louise the Dame du Avigne
Louise Josephine Moreau the Madame du Avigne (July 3rd, 1684- April 12th, 1750) is the wife of Andreus Moreau and mother to the Duc d'Orleans, Jean-Claude Moreau Lowell-Valois Early Life and Family Louise Josephine Moreau (nee Dubois) was born the 3rd of July, 1684 in her family's city residence in Dijon. Unlike many nobles families, this branch of the Dubois line had fallen on hard times and was actually quite lucky to have obtained any residence near Dijon. Louise was the 6th and final daughter of Philippe the Monsieur du Avigne and his wife Marie the Dame du Avigne et Bareau. At the age of 4, Louise was orphaned by a plague that ravaged the majority of her family, leaving only her sister Georgiana, her brother Francois. They were immediately taken in by their mother's sister Joan the Madame de Ventaime, who would not pay for their education. Instead, Louise was introduced to court rather prematurely and, though welcomed, largely unremarkable. Her life at court largely defined her future position. She spent much of her time in a major factionalized portion of the noble classes and was constantly in a battle for power in court. She accumulated a bit of wealth from inheritance following her aunt's death in 1705, which she used to her advantage in many ways. Relationship with Andreus and the Cornelian Dynasty Following Cornelius's entrance into court, Madame du Avigne felt threatened by the prospect of a new rival. She showed him little courtesy from the start and refused to recognize his advances of friendship, even as he became a close friend to the Empress Consort. In one instance even, as Cornelius was discussing issues with some of the Ducs, Louise is said to have motioned a feigned stomach pain as Cornelius walked by. In May of 1710, Louise became aware of Andreus, Cornelius's son, and was acquainted with him at his city residence, 5 houses from her own private residence. They began their intimate relationship after Andreus had settled into his home by later in May of the same year. According to the June 24th entry of the 1710 edition of The Cornelian Volumes, Louise and Andreus were infatuated with each other and Louise was with child around the middle of June. This led to Cornelius being so infuriated with his son that he refused to speak to Andreus for over a year. By August 17th of 1710, however, Louise and Cornelius began talking as equals and allies, even at court. Louise began acting as a go-between for Andreus and the rest of his family. Following the betrayal committed by a small group of minor nobles to Cornelius after he defunded his share of the colonial venture in Asia, Louise supported Cornelius and even offered to pay for the lack of compensation. On November 9th of 1710, it is reported in the Volumes that Louise was officially married in a morganatic ceremony to Andreus, attended by Cornelius and several servants. On March 28th, 1711, Louise went into labour in the early morning and at 6pm, she had a son, whom she named Jean-Claude. The joy of having a child was suddenly tainted, however, by the terrible news of the loss of her sister Georgiana, who died only days later under very suspicious circumstances. It has been suggested that Cornelius himself was responsible for this trauma that sent Louise into a depression that continued for years. In June of 1711, Louise moved out of court, deciding to live in a reclusive state for years. Her husband and son joined her for quite some time. On July 11th of 1713, Louise had a second child with Andreus, a daughter named Marie Augustine. The Dame du Avigne was not seen in court again until after the death of her grand-nephew Henri Alois d'Orleans. Later Life Her return to court in 1739 brought a much less than welcoming stare into the Cornelian Line. Louise was seen as an outcast in court because of her absense in many aspects of life. Her husband eventually convinced her to return to Vincennes in 1741, which is where she lived for quite a long time. Following the Great Extensions of Vincennes, Louise was granted an apartment of her own in the wing containing the gisants of various members of the Cornelian Line. Her husband Andreus delegated a room for his own Gisant for when the time comes. Their child, Jean-Claude, decided to have a small apartment on that wing as well; he delegated to allow the rest of the main building to other relatives and guests. Louise would live long enough to see the completion of the extension. Following the death of her sister-in-law and longtime friend, she suffered such grief that she refused to set foot on the property at Vincennes. By August of 1749, however, she would not be able to set foot anywhere. She developed ulcers in her legs that would periodically grow mildly festerous. The pain forced her to be carried around via sedan chair. Louise's embarassment of her debiliating condition led to her further isolation. She eventually was limited to a small room in Villandry. By April of 1750, Louise's condition worsened to the point that she had to be moved from Villandry for fear that the boggy air around the estate was causing such illness. While en route to Dijon, her health completely deteriorated. Her transporting caravan took an emergency turn and hurried her to Vincennes. She was taken to her old bedroom overlooking the garden, where she slipped into a coma. As the unknown illness led to her throat closing, Louise died quietly on April 12th, 1750, surrounded by the remains of her family and a priest who had given her last rights. Louise was buried in her crypt in the Necropolis wing at Vincennes. Her crypt overlooks a unique view of the single tree that she had planted years before. Category:Grandelumierian Nobility Category:House Lowell-Valois